Remember that one time in East Rock, when we saw a tree branch that seemed to be colonized by a whole bunch of fluffy white stuff? And then, after Rich's suggestion, we--the n00bs that we were--collected some of the fluffy insects, excited to get hold of a "different family." They looked sort of like this:
Image source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjip_JT06hypNZvxlAwrCBuQ-Je1LBLJmaB1QZD3aAyigEKoes-1nZM2K66YKdbaxDkepJVzZJ20Jtdt94VHKL0dMHr6HFz7FEsLzgsHU6E2h1__qCLD1iCr8varndmElB4Utt_OGctsiA/s400/fagr3028.jpg
If I am not mistaken, these are probably woolly aphids from the Eriosomatinae subfamily (Order: Hemiptera, Suborder: Sternorrhyncha, Family: Aphididae). One of their common names is "fairy fly" because of the way they fly. They initially don't use their wings, allowing the wind to carry them by their waxy streaks, so they just drift in synchrony with the wind like plant seeds, until they are ready to use their wings and direct their flight.
Woolly aphids get their fluffy appearance from a wax they produce in very long, thin streams. If you wash a woolly aphid in a wax-dissolving substance, you will see an ordinary-looking aphid underneath. The wax protects the aphids from predators while they feed because, although it is visible, it is often mistaken for mold or fungus, which no predator wants to eat. The adults are winged and move to new locations where they lay egg masses. Up close, they can be really cute:
Image source: http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/image/34892806
As we know, aphids are sucking insects and, as, Hemipterans, have piercing-sucking mouthparts to penetrate the thick plant matter they eat and suck up the liquid contents. Woolly aphids withdraw sap from the plant matter they pierce, which can be leaves, buds, twigs, bark, and even plant roots. From feeding on this sap, they produce a sweet, sticky substance known as honeydew, which often coats leaves, bark, and objects beneath the tree, giving them a wet, shiny appearance. But regular Aphids use their cornicles on the dorsal side of their abdomens to deposit honeydew. You will only find reduced or absent cornicle structures in Erosomatinae.
Anyway, you should probably still look at your specimen under the microscope because I haven't yet, and at this point this is all still speculation. But at least now you know a little bit more about fluffy white stuff you find in nature.
Sources (really weak - there have to be better woolly aphid sources online)!
http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/e453woollyaphid.html
http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/580213/Woolly-aphids-are-more-than-floating-seeds.html?nav=5067
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